Student Support

School Counselor

Our school counselor, Dr. Karamitos, works together with parents, teachers, and administrators to empower all students to navigate the changes and challenges in their lives, especially those that may interfere with their learning.  Our counseling program teaches children various life skills that will help students to be successful in the classroom and to develop positive coping skills. It also encourages students to have positive interactions with their peers.  This program helps students achieve confidence in their emotional and social behaviors.

What is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Social-emotional wellness is critical to academic success.  According to the Emotional Intelligence Network, “social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions”.  

The SEL Program

• Teaches Social-Emotional Lessons to K-5 at least once a month.  
• Teaches Second Step Program to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  
• Strives to meet the many social-emotional goals outlined in the common core.
  • Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success.
  • Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships.
  • Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.
• Provides short-term individual counseling
• Provides small group counseling, i.e. lunch bunch
• Supports teachers with various student needs
• Supports and communicates with parents, as necessary
• Provides community referrals to students and parents, as necessary
• Works with community resources to provide support and enrichment activities
• Invites various speakers on topics such as internet safety, helping anxious children, and social responsibility

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Karamitos at [email protected].

Learning Behavior Support

The Learning Behavior Support team provides a safe place for all students to learn with a variety of methods and tools that meet the needs of individual students. Support offered includes: testing accommodations, academic support, sensory support, and academic interventions. This program strives to help students reach their potential while feeling confident in their learning process. Using Response to Intervention, or RTI, the Learning Behavior Support staff and teachers work together to collect data and to develop test accommodations for students. iReady benchmarking assessments are provided 3 times a year and this team collects and analyzes the data to track the academic progress of students. The staff also consults with teachers about student needs and attends District 57 meetings to develop Individual Education Plans for students that require added support.